Special meeting scheduled to discuss income tax increase

NEWTON FALLS -- City officials have planned a special meeting for 7 p.m. Monday to discuss the details of the proposed 0.5 percent income tax increase.
The increase will raise the city's rate from 1 percent to 1.5 percent while the meeting Monday will serve as a first reading for the ordinance.
The city currently does not require residents who work outside the city pay the 1 percent tax. All residents will be required to pay the new 0.5 percent if the ordinance is passed.
"It's the best way to make it fair across the board for all residents," said Councilwoman Catie Karl-Moran.
If passed by council, the proposed increase will be placed on the May ballot.
Other business
In other business, council made plans to officially recognize a heart-rattling, yet tragic moment in American history, proclaiming Feb. 5 Four Chaplains Day in Newton Falls. The day will honor the sinking of the USS Dorchester during World War II, which took place Feb. 3, 1943, and cost the country nearly 700 lives.
The vessel had been struck by torpedo fire from a German submarine while traveling through the chilly North Atlantic to an army base in Greenland.
After the ship began to slowly sink, panic filled the boat. Four chaplains, each of a different religious background, organized the panic-stricken men and eventually would give up their life vests when the supply ran out.
In the final moments of their lives, the four linked arms and prayed aloud in unison as the ship sank.